The troubling experience of a seasoned instructor fighter pilot highlights the critical challenges faced by the U.S. Air Force as it grapples with a significant pilot shortage while simultaneously pushing out seasoned instructors.
After 28 years of dedicated service, Stephen Pinchak, serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Arizona Air National Guard (ANG), was confronted with a Mandatory Separation Date (MSD) he was not ready to accept.
Thankfully, there was an encouraging aspect: the ANG offers a way to pursue extending service beyond the established MSD. The experienced F-16 Fighting Falcon instructor was eager to explore this option and continue serving.
The Gateway Pundit interviewed the Lieutenant Colonel, who has now been forced into retirement, about his experiences. Pinchak served as a Drill-Status Guardman (DSG) and dedicated five to seven days each month to teaching in the F-16 after leaving a full-time job.
He achieved the highest qualification ratings on all his required checkrides, flew more sorties than typically required for a DSG, and maintained a perfect score of 100 on fitness tests for four consecutive years (2021–2024). According to his senior officer reviewer, he fulfilled all of his commanders’ expectations throughout his 28 years of service as a Lieutenant Colonel, and his officer performance reports noted that he was a “seasoned instructor” and a “go-to instructor pilot.”
In November 2024, Pinchak asked to continue serving, citing 10 U.S.C. § 14701 and Department of Defense Instruction 1320.08. He submitted a formal request to extend his MSD, which included the necessary checklist, his performance history, and a justification based on the Air Force’s acknowledged shortage of F-16 instructors.
The U.S. Air Force is facing apersistent shortage of pilots, with F-16 pilots representing a large part of this gap. Last year, there was a deficiency of over 1,000 fighter pilots in total, and the absence of fighter personnel continues to be a challenge for the force.
“Not only is the Air Force short of fighter pilots, but the cost to create an F-16 instructor pilot is staggering,” Penchak noted. “Initial pilot training, fighter fundamentals training, F-16 training, pilot seasoning for several years, and instructor training all add up to more than $25 million and seven years.”
“Keeping trained pilots costs even more with full-timepilot bonusesrunning into the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he added. Interestingly, part-time Drill Status Guardsmen are not eligible for bonuses and are only paid on the days they fly and train, costing less than 1/5 of a full-time pilot.
This alarming shortfall and replacement costs not only jeopardize the operational readiness of the Air Force but also place increased stress on the existing pilots, potentially compromising national security. In this crisis of readiness, is Pinchak really the kind of individual one would expect to be forced into retirement, while the U.S. Air Force is paying significant dollars to keep similarly situated pilots in the service?
Source: The Gateway Pundit
